1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of hand tools. More particularly, this invention pertains to tools for undertaking manipulative operations spaced apart from the operator's hands, generically known as "butlers". More specifically, this invention pertains to butlers for aiding a person in putting on and taking off their shoes.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are times and situations wherein an individual cannot directly use his or her hands to undertake a manipulative operation. Instances such as where house keys dropped down through a grate, keys locked in a car and a wallet dropped in a sewer are all instances where direct access to the article is prevented and some retrieval tool is needed. In addition, some people are situated such that their body is somehow unable to undertake manipulative operations due to various maladies such as arthritic conditions in the hands, spinal injuries, and diseases such as polio. Because of these situations, a range of tools, known as "butlers", has been developed to undertake these manipulative operations.
Simply picking up and moving items has been the general subject of most butlers. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,492 concerns a tool for use in picking up trash or other items using an elongated shaft having a handle at the upper end and a pair of spring operated fingers at the lower end. Such a tool is successful in picking up small items to be moved from one place to another. However, where the manipulative operation also includes the need to hold the item steady while some other operation is being performed, the prior art has not been so successful.
Particularly where significant grasping power is required, virtually all of the prior art has required in turn significant hand grasping power to be transmitted through mechanical means to provide the grasping strength at the operative or manipulative end of the butler. Where such hand power is insufficient, because of age, arthritis, or other infirmity, the prior art has not been successful in providing a butler-type tool of significant mechanical advantage to overcome the loss of this hand power.